Ren
by sarahsmile99
Summary: Renwick Ivory volunteers for the 99th Hunger Games.


1

Renwick's POV

The small light of early dawn is pouring through my window as I lay splayed out on the bed covers.

I can feel the dark hollows under my eyes from lying awake all night, and the daunting fact that today is the Reaping has invaded my mind and eaten away at whatever good feelings were floating around inside of me. Out of my bedroom window I can see the Justice Building and its partially crumbling marble slabs and columns. It's still District Six, but it looks different before the sun comes up over Panem. Mom is surely asleep and dad is probably passed out on the kitchen floor or somewhere near the front door from all that he's been drinking.

"Ren!" someone whispers, "Ren, come on!"

I lift my head up and look out of the window to see Talia waving frantically from the perch on my roof, her almost amber eyes are catching the few rays of sunlight.

I shake my head and sit up slowly, rubbing my eyes and trying to get a sense of what's going on. Her face clearly shows me that she's up to something, and her lips are twisted into a smirk of scheming. I yank the window open and rest my head on the cold metal, my heart burning with refusal.

"What is it?" The words fall out of my mouth before I can catch them.

A hurt look flashes through her gaze before it returns to normal.

"Oh I don't know, today's the Reaping and I wanted to run away before we both get fed to the Capitol's evil games." she splutters.

"I'm sorry about my tone I just can't get my mind off of the Reaping." I half lie.

"I know you're going to think I'm insane, but we should go off into the woods today. The Reaping isn't until later." she says giddily.

"Talia, you are insane." I voice my thoughts. "I didn't get a wink of sleep last night because of this Reaping and you think that I can just forget it all and go running off into the woods?"

I say this a little louder than I anticipated and I wake Caspian.

"Ren?" Caspian asks groggily from the doorway. "What's going on?"

His eyes light up when he sees Talia.

"You two were sneaking out!" he gasps.

"Be quiet and go back to sleep Cas." I snap at him.

"Why were you yelling?" he asks, ignoring my plea for him to leave.

"I was just leaving. Bye Caspian." she says sharply. "Have fun losing your mind over the Reaping Renwick."

She called be my full name. She only does that when she's really mad. I watch her grab onto the branch and swing down onto the tree trunk, and I find myself lost for words. I feel terrible, but there is still that burning refusal in my heart. I growl and punch the pillow on my bed, before realizing that Caspian is still standing in my doorway half asleep.

"What happened Ren?" he asks quietly. "Why did she leave without you?"

"We had an argument, but don't worry bud, go back to sleep for a while." I make a desperate attempt to change the subject and not worry my little brother on Reaping day.

"I'm thirteen Ren. You can tell me what happened." he gives me a hard look and I immediately cave.

"I said what was on my mind and made her mad. She probably won't talk to me for a while and I feel like crap, because of all of this and the Reaping." I ramble. "So yeah, that's the full story."

"Well I can't go back to sleep. I don't know about you." he shrugs and leans against the door frame.

"I haven't slept all night." I reply.

"Do you like her?" Caspian asks suddenly as he approaches the bed.

I am taken aback by his question and I stand there in utter silence for a minute.

"I don't know Caspian. She's one of my best friends." I say finally.

"I thought you'd say that. I don't really know why I asked… sorry." he apologizes.

"I don't mind that you asked; it's just that I truly don't know what I think about any of this right now." I shrug and plop down on my bed, massaging my temples.

"So, what do you think that new mentor Conan? He seems really smart, but he lost his best friend to the Games." Caspian asks.

"He won the Hunger Games, so I guess he knows what he's doing." I reply plainly.

Caspian begins to doze off slowly, and his head falls onto the bed. I tap his shoulder, but he doesn't respond, so I decide to let him sleep off the stress of the Reaping today and I make my way onto the perch on the roof. I have no idea what to expect today, and now I wish I had went with Talia on her crazy rendezvous to the woods. She really is a great friend, and I never meant to hurt her.

The sun has climbed higher in the sky and is now casting its full rays over the top of the Justice Building. The leaves on the trees are quaking in the wind and none of it is doing anything to calm my frazzled nerves.

"Da—d what… you doing to your… self?" Caspian mumbles in his sleep.

Although it was hard to make out I know he was dreaming about dad coming home not thinking straight and in a total mess from the alcohol. Everything he's been doing to himself is stressing mom out and worrying her. I follow in Talia's footsteps and grab onto the low hanging branches on the tree and swing down onto the flimsy trunk. The tree wavers under my teenage weight, and it threatens to throw me onto the ground below.

"Come on!" I hiss at the tree as I make my way further down, letting go and landing hard on the balls of my feet.

I wince and continue walking, silencing the bubbling words inside of me that wanted to pour out due to the pain.

"Renny… you're up early." Mom says quietly from the front porch. "You could walk a little further and use the door next time honey."

"Yeah, but the tree is much more exciting." I say, defending my exiting fashion.

I turn around and continue to walk in the direction of the Justice Building and the center of town. I gulp down the nasty feeling of terror as I turn on my heels away from the square and down my favorite path near the active electric fence separating District Six from the vast and sinister woods. Here it is relatively peaceful, the occasional Mockingjay flying overhead repeating a tune it copied from someone else. I pick up a rock and fling it into a tree, getting a yelp of pain in response. My eyes widen as I realize that I just threw a rock into Talia's tree.

"RENWICK KELLAN IVORY!" she yells from the tree. "If you wanted to kill me that much, why not volunteer me for the Hunger Games! It would have been a little more painful!"

She leaps down from the tree in a wave of fury and shoves me onto the ground.

"You little scoundrel, acting as though you had nothing better to do than sit and mope about your possible death and then coming and trying to freaking kill me with a rock. WHY NOT JUST FEED ME TO THE CAPITOL'S EVIL MUTATIONS?!" she shouts, furious.

I open my mouth in an attempt to explain, but she throws a punch at my face, barely missing by fingernail's length. I thrust my hand out and grab her fist with an iron grasp.

"Listen to me! I forgot this was your neck of the woods and I was just trying to get some air before I drove myself crazy." I growl.

She takes a deep breath and puts her head in her hands, a wash of tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Talia stop crying! I hate it." I plead.

"I'm sorry I hurt you Ren." she sobs before taking off running in a full sprint.

I shake my head and feel for the throbbing pain in my back from its contact with the ground. I wasn't anticipating a morning like this while I was lying in bed last night. Getting yelled at, roughly shoved, and nearly assaulted by my closest friend.

My life in District Six is pretty uneventful usually. Me being the oldest qualified male in the family, I have to work in the factories that manufacture hovercrafts and the high-tech trains District Six provides for the Capitol and all of Panem. We aren't poor in Six, and my family would be considered middle class among all of the people in our district. Considering the fact that I'm only recently sixteen, factory work is a big commitment along with schooling.

The sun is now at its highest point in the sky for the day, and I have to head back home to prepare for the Reaping, which means putting on my best shirt. I pick up a jog all of the way home and I'm met by my frazzled mom at the door.

"Renwick, we need to get you ready for the Reaping. We only have about twenty minutes before we're expected to be commenced in the square." she ushers me up the stairs and to my room where my shirt is laid out on the bed. "Please hurry honey."

I nod vigorously and quickly change into the freshly cleaned shirt and pants. I grab a quick glance of myself in the mirror, noticing the ghastly state of my rust colored hair and making a weak attempt to straighten it out. I swallow the bile rising in my throat and make a desperate attempt to ease my gripping fear and racing heart. Caspian appears in the doorway just as he had early this morning, dressed in a suit almost exactly like mine, his red-brown hair slicked back neatly by a sparing of hair gel. The bell sounds and my eyes widen in exasperation, the thought of mine or Caspian's name being called invading my mind.

"Ren, we need to go. I'm worried too, trust me, but there are tons of other kids that might be chosen." he states.

I am suddenly angered by his attempt to calm me down and I let out a harsh breath before hustling out of the room.

"Give me your hand." the Peacekeeper commands.

I reach out my hand and ignore the sharp prick of the needle. I then watch as Caspian experiences the same pain. The searing rays of the sun are burning my back as I approach my division and find an empty place in between two petrified boys that I recognize from school. I look out upon the sea of fear ridden faces and soak in the true cruelty of the Hunger Games.

Sasha Kinsley clicks onto the stage in her elaborate heels, her blond hair tied up in intricate twists and pleats. She is followed by two men, one of which I recognize as Conan, last year's Victor and District Six's newest mentor. I don't recognize the other, but he looks considerably older and completely and unrealistically calm.

"Welcome boys and girls, to the 99th annual Hunger Games!" Sasha chirps from the stage in the well-known Capitol accent that sends shivers down my spine. "You all look like a promising bunch, so there's always the possibility that we'll have another District Six victory in this year's Games."

She gives Conan a look and the other mentor claps him on the back. He gives a weak smile and she returns to looking brightly out on the crowd.

"Now for the girls." she chirps as the reaches her hand into the glass bowl and grasps a slip between her pink brushed nails. "Zahara Stone."

"Zahara, no!" a little girl cries out from the crowd, but no one steps forward to volunteer for her. The slightly tan brunette looks up at Sasha as if she can't believe she just spoke those words and then she jolts forward and begins walking up the steps to the stage. She can't be much older than fifteen.

"And now for the boys." she says with a sickeningly happy tone.

My adrenaline is racing and tiny beads of sweat are forming on my red cheeks. Bile is rising in my throat again.

"Caspian Ivory." she announces clearly.

My heart stops. Caspian looks as though he's been shot as he steps forward to approach is almost certain death in the wrath of the Capitol. I try to move but my feet are frozen in place. I force my mouth open and shout the two words that kept me awake all last night.

"I volunteer!"

Sasha stops in her tracks and looks to the source of the voice in the crowd of boys.

"Do we have a volunteer?" she asks, surprised by my willingness to risk my life.

I step forward and begin to walk up to the stage, mounting the stairs as if it's the very last thing I'll ever do in District Six, which it very well might be.

"You look quite similar to that young boy whose name I just called out. Could you by chance be related to Caspian?"

"Yes. I'm Renwick— Ivory." I answer, my entire body drenched with sweat.

"Alright Renwick, well that was a might brave thing to do if you ask me. My bet is you'll do almost anything to protect you little brother." she announces.

"Yes." I reply plainly.

"District Six, your tributes for the 99th Hunger Games!" she bellows, grabbing Zahara's and my hands and raising them into the air.

I take a deep breath and swallow everything to keep myself from bursting into what I fear might be tears. Zahara's face is blank and some of the warm tan color has drained out. I look back into the crowd and see no sign of Talia before the doors to the marble Justice Building close with a slam.


End file.
